Silent Thunder

NO ROAR, BUT JUST A HISS is what you can expect when you mount the Droog Moto scrambler and twist the throttle. No, not to worry. There’s nothing wrong with the engine. Keeping up with the times this is the first ever electrical bike that Max and Erica built.

As the Droog Moto team are regulars on our pages with their breath-taking devices, we are curious what made them swerve to volts rather than stick with petrol ignited horsepower. Max retorts: “ This build was commissioned by a client who wanted to turn his Brammo Empulse R into a brutal electric machine!”

Pavement Princess

He continues: “The main idea behind the build was to give the customer the opportunity to take his pavement princess and give it the abilities to tackle all sorts of terrain. We wanted this bike to have a Droog Moto look with an off road touch and came up with this silent but deadly ride. Hence the name ‘Silent Assassin hahaha!”

We have seen the Brammo’s around at shows but hardly ever on the streets. Not really a surprise as the motorcycle division of the Oregon based manufacturer was sold to Polaris Industries in 2015 and stopped producing under the name ‘Brammo”. In spite of the fact the term ‘pavement princess’ may sound a bit derogatory, we know exactly what the Droog team are trying to explain. It seems the bike has woken up from a reverse beauty sleep which has turned it into the Beast hitting the streets now.

Yes, we will all have to get accustomed to the lack of roaring engines heralding the arrival of a cool looking bike, but on the Droog Moto version you will get people hissing with excitement too when you pull up to the pavement. All beginnings are difficult and builders are looking for ways to endow their designs with the sexiness that has for so long been the domain of combustion engine propelled machines. Not an easy task we think.

The Washington State based outfit set out to design a two wheeled monster that would be able to hold up its own against the previous brutes that saw daylight in the Droog Moto workshop. “For that the bike needed all new body work” they explain. “It consists of a new handmade faux tank to cover the bulk of the electronics. Flowing with the main frame is a new subframe and seat which houses an electrical component you can see from below.”

Continuing: “The front end consists of a new 7” LED headlight and tracker plate that is mated up with a sleek front fender. The bike was equipped with a skid plate to aid in vital protection which also has been helped by our new swingarm shock mounts and stiffer spring.

The build was also lifted a few inches for better off road riding. Knobby enduro tires are a must on all of our builds so that’s a given. We placed our 1 1/8 DM fat bar and new grips on the bike giving the rider a wider stance.”

So what were the biggest challenges the two were facing when construction their vision? The team counters in harmony: “The build itself wasn’t all too challenging. The biggest feat we had to endure was working around the electronics controlling this beast. Unlike a traditional bike with much less electrical components, these electrical bikes use nothing but controllers and yards of wiring to make everything work together.

A lot of the parts had to be kept in place which resulted in us having to work around it. Typically we remove everything and do whatever we want”, they say laughing out loud. With Droog Moto’s vast experience working mainly with gas engines, according to the wrenchers this bike was interesting to work with. It has so much torque in all gears and having it with a 6 speed transmission kept the riding enjoyable!

The Bikebrewers team have chosen the faux tank as our favourite. It still has the latest DM attitude with aggressive angles and some neat detailing. An electrical bike with the bite of a powerful black stallion, ready to gallop across twisty country roads.

As can be seen in the video, whisking away and hitting the tracks is a damn blast. It is clear it handles smoothly on road and kills it in the dirt no doubt!

Interested in having Droog build one for you too? Either check out their own website or go to The Arsenale to get an idea of the rating of their machines (and start saving).

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About Editor

Ron Betist grew up with motorcycles with a father heading the Amsterdam motorcycle police force. He has been riding (legally) for over 40 years and motorcycles are his true passion. With a life-long career in marketing and sales he has a huge international network. He joined as a contributor at BikeBrewers in 2017 to spread his word about bikes with the rest of the world. Read more about Ron here.